1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a non-destructible, multi-position hinge lock to be coupled to the existing hinge assembly of a door so as to be capable of reliably retaining the door in either an opened or closed position relative to a doorway.
2. Background Art
Door stops have long been used to hold a door in an opened position relative to a doorway. In a majority of instances, the door stops are made from either rubber or wood or are wedged between the bottom of the door and the floor to inhibit movement of the door. However, these conventional door stops are known to crack, splinter, wear and generally disintegrate with prolonged use. Moreover, the tops of these door stops are sometimes sheared off by the force of the door to be held open, thereby causing such door stops to become unreliable, particularly when the door is subjected to a strong wind or a pulling force generated by a closing arm which operates to automatically bias the door towards a normally closed position across a doorway. As a consequence of the foregoing, a door stop as mentioned above is frequently discarded which leads to frustration on the part of the user. What is more, such door stops have little application for also retaining a door in a closed position so as to deny access to a room through a doorway that is closed by the door.
What is even more, the lack of a reliable door stop can prove to be very inconvenient. For example, when moving furniture into an apartment or boxes from a warehouse or when remodeling or constructing a room of a building, a dependable door stop is especially needed to hold open a door, particularly when only a single worker is available. Similarly, in certain police and fire fighting actions, it is often necessary to prevent a door from returning to the closed and locked position, whereby to deny law enforcement officers or fire officials continuous entry through the doorway. In each of these cases, a door stop which fails may leave an individual locked outside an area to which immediate access is required or faced with the undesirable and time consuming task of having to repeatedly open a door that continuously swings shut.
In an effort to replace the conventional door stops so as to overcome the problems inherent therewith and to be able to retain doors in both opened and closed positions to which they are moved, door stops have been introduced that are coupled to the existing hinge assembly of the door. More particularly, these door stops are located in surrounding engagement with the usual hinge pin whereby to prevent the hinge plates from rotating relative to one another. However, a single door stop may not be suitable for use in all positions of the door relative to a doorway. That is to say, different door stops may be required in order to retain a door in a closed position as well as an opened position.
Examples of stops that are coupled to the hinge assembly of a door or a shutter to control the movement of such door or shutter are available by referring to the following patents:
______________________________________ IT 469,538 March 4, 1952 U.S. Pat. No. 104,294 June 14, 1870 U.S. Pat. No. 314,105 March 17, 1885 U.S. Pat. No. 485,613 November 8, 1892 U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,596 February 22, 1994 Des. 311,677 October 30, 1990 ______________________________________